Iron is an essential trace element in animal and human nutrition. It is a component of heme in hemoglobin and of myoglobin, cytochromes and several enzymes. The main role of iron is its participation in the transport, storage and utilization of oxygen. Inadequate iron is a direct cause of the high incidence of anemia, especially among children, adolescents and women. The need for adequate iron is one which extends for the entire life of the human being.
However the body does not produce iron and is totally dependent on an external supply of iron; nutritional or supplementary. The recommended daily allowance for iron intake is usually about 10 mg per day. However the amount needed is dependent on age and sex. Children, women up to the time of menopause, and expectant and nursing mothers have higher requirements of iron.
Therefore iron deficiency is essentially a nutritional problem; a nutritional problem which is common not only in the developing countries. The problem is readily dealt with by consuming foods which naturally provide adequate iron but this is not always possible in disadvantaged societies. Also, many foods normally consumed in developed countries are poor in iron.
To provide a source of iron, many foods and beverages are supplemented with iron. Usually the iron source used in supplementation is a soluble iron salt such as ferrous sulfate, ferrous lactate, ferrous gluconate, ferrous fumarate, ferric citrate, ferric choline citrate, and ferric ammonim citrate. Ferrous sulfate is especially common due to its good bioavailability. Unfortunately, iron supplementation and especially ferrous sulfate supplementation has deleterious effects. In particular, the iron often causes discoloration and off-flavors due to its capacity to interact with polyphenols and lipids and to promote destructive free-radical reactions. This is especially the case at high temperatures and in the presence of oxygen and light.
For example, the addition of a soluble iron source to chocolate milk powder causes the beverage to turn to dark gray when reconstituted with water or milk. It is believed that this is due to the interaction between the iron and iron sensitive ingredients, such as polyphenols. Further, the addition of soluble iron sources to milk, cereals, other fat containing products, mostly products with high level of unsaturated fatty acids, causes flavor changes due to lipid oxidation. Lipid oxidation not only affects the organoleptic properties of foods and beverages, but also undesirably affects the nutritional quality of these products. These interactions can be also enhanced during heat treatment, such as pasteurization or sterilization. In addition, the pH of some iron salts systems may not be compatible with other ingredients or may affect the flavor. Also, from a technical point of view, soluble iron salts can cause corrosion of processing equipment.
Unfortunately, non-soluble or slightly soluble iron sources such as elemental iron, ferric pyrophosphate, etc., are not sufficiently bioavailable. Therefore, while they may cause little or no discoloration and off-flavor problems, they are poorly absorbed by the body.
To deal with these problems, there have been several attempts to encapsulate or complex soluble iron sources in a way which reduces their reactivity but which maintains their bioavailability. However the attempts have not been entirely successful.
An example of encapsulated iron source is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,555 where iron is coated in an edible, metabolizable fat which has a melting point between about 38° C. and about 121° C. Hydrogenated and refined vegetable oils, and particularly distilled monoglycerides from fully hydrogenated cottonseed oil, are described to be suitable. Although this encapsulation of the iron results in about a 20% reduction in bioavailability, this is stated to be acceptable providing the iron source used has a sufficiently good bioavailability. However, the primary problem is that, if the foods must undergo any form of harsh processing, the capsule is destroyed. Consequently the encapsulated iron cannot be used in products which need to be retorted or subjected to other forms of harsh treatment.
An early example of an iron complex is described in U.S. Pat. No. 505,986. This complex is an iron albumin preparation. The albumin is in intact but heat coagulated form. The complex is recovered as a precipitate. However, when these iron albumin complexes are used in beverages, discoloration and oxidation does occur. For example, chocolate beverages fortified with iron albumin complexes turn a gray color.
More recent examples of iron complexes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,540 where iron in the ferric form is complexed with hydrolyzed casein or hydrolyzed liver powder. Various other hydrolyzed proteins are also mentioned as possible ligands. The complexes are collected as insoluble precipitates. Unfortunately the iron in the complexes is unlikely to have acceptable bioavailability.
Further examples iron complexes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,072 where iron is complexed with substantially completely hydrolyzed collagen. Various other completely hydrolyzed proteins are also mentioned as possible ligands. However, the complexes are stated to be stable under acidic conditions and, since the conditions in the gut are acidic, the iron in the complexes is unlikely to have acceptable bioavailability. Also, the complexes are not sufficiently strong to prevent discoloration and lipid oxidation.
Further examples are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,144 where iron in the ferrous form is complexed with hydrolyzed protein; especially soy protein. The bioavailability of the iron in the complexes is claimed to be better than ferrous sulfate. However, when ferrous-soy hydrolysate complexes are used in beverages, discoloration and oxidation does occur. For example, chocolate beverages fortified with ferrous-soy hydrolysate complexes turn a gray color.
Other examples of iron complexes are described in Japanese patent applications 2-083333 and 2-083400. In these applications, ferrous caseinate complexes are used to treat anemia. However, these complexes are not suitable for use in fortifying foods and beverages because they are not sufficiently stable. Also, these complexes are in the form of coagulates and are difficult to disperse.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an iron fortification system which is relatively stable but in which the iron is relatively bioavailable.